The present invention relates to an integrated flight control system for an aircraft that includes at least one smart probe having an internal computer card or central processing unit, which receives input data or signals including solid state inertial reference, pressure inputs. angle of attack, and temperatures, and further having a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver circuit included as part of the smart probe. The GPS receiver also provides inputs to the central processing unit.
In the prior art various smart probe assemblies have been advanced where the probes have housings with micro-processors and which receive pressure sensor inputs, temperature sensor inputs, and angle of a attack inputs. The smart probe microprocessor will provide the desired output signals to various controls or displays. Smart probes can be redundant, or in other words two different probes can be connected so the data from one probe can be fed to the other for determining information such as differential pressure that indicates aircraft side slip.
At present, however, the probes are not capable of determining the ground speed, aircraft attitude, latitude, longitude, track, turn rate, or GPS altitude, which outputs can be provided with existing global positioning satellite receivers.
The present invention relates to the determination of various parameters during flight, utilizing a smart probe arrangement, that will not only provide the basic information of pressure, total air temperature (TAT) and other physical parameters, but also will provide information that is available from global positioning satellite signals. These include longitude, latitude, ground speed, turn rate, GPS altitude and similar information.
The present probe further includes accelerometers and rate sensors on a circuit card or cards wherein the accelerometers are positioned to sense Inertial forces in the three mutually perpendicular axes. A magnetometer for determining the magnetic field of the earth at the aircraft location can be provided so that the accelerometers can be used for determining the position of the aircraft or air vehicle during operation.
The accelerometers and rate sensors further provide information, in connection with the global positioning satellite receiver as to the pitch, roll, yaw and magnetic heading of the aircraft. The difference between the aircraft track, as determined by the GPS receiver, and the magnetic heading provides angle of side slip, for example. The algorithms for determining these outputs can be placed in the smart probe processor, and the information can be substantially instantaneously transmitted to a flight management system, or on board avionics including cockpit displays, or automatic pilot controls.
By adding additional circuit cards into the card rack of a smart probe, and providing a small antennaes for the global positioning satellite receiver, that does not substantially affect the drag of the aircraft, the determination of the aircraft position and other parameters can be obtained without having a large number of different. probes, and antennaes.